Dani looked over her messages. One was a text message was from Cecilia, one of her fellow strippers at the strip club, asking her where she was and if she was okay. Knowing she had a lot to explain, Dani immediately called Cecilia.
"Hi, Cecilia, what's going on?" Dani said.
"We're all worried sick about you, Dani," Cecilia replied. "Where are you?"
Dani then explained the events of her past 24 hours. Cecilia thought she was lying, told her to get to the club before noon, it was just after 10 AM at this time, and hung up. Dani sent Cecilia a selfie of herself with the barn in the background as proof; Cecilia immediately called her back.
"Oh my God, Dani!" she exclaimed, "How did you wind up there?"
"I can't remember," Dani said, "I just woke up naked in the grass yesterday morning. I looked around and no one was here. I later found out the owner died about five months ago."
"You were naked?" Cecilia asked.
"Yup, still naked," Dani replied, "except for that towel, I just took a shower. But there's no one else here, so that's okay with me. I have to check on the horses downstairs now."
Cecilia then told Dani: "Well, send me the address. I'll bring you some clothes and give you a lift to the club."
"Okay, see you when I see you," Dani said and hung up with Cecilia.
After their conversation, Dani texted the address to Cecilia, put her phone into her purse and walked downstairs to the stable. She and Rex entered the stable from the garage again and she began brushing the horses down with the brush hanging on the wall. She grew more confident as she moved from one horse to the next. The brown horse, who was the only one free from his reigns, peed on Dani's feet as she brushed him, but that was okay with her; you gotta go when you gotta go, whether you're a human or a horse. The horse then began brushing his head on Dani, taking the towel off and revealing her naked body once again. He led her to the entrance/exit of the stable, indicating he wanted to roam about outside.
Dani brought him out and he knelt at her side, apparently wanting her to get on and ride him. Dani hadn't ridden a horse before and wasn't sure if she should try now. But not wanting to hurt the horse's feelings, she climbed onto his back, he stood up straight and began walking with her on his back. He walked slowly and gracefully, so Dani wasn't so scared. They walked past the barn, around the perimeter of the property and back down to the swimming hole, where he walked into the water with Dani still on his back. She slid off his back and stood in the water beside him, enjoying the weather. She washed him down a little and they began to bond. After about 20 minutes, however, Dani remembered Cecilia was on her way to pick her up. She guided the horse out of the water, got back on his back, and he walked her back to the house. Dani didn't see Cecilia's car anywhere and, relieved she hadn't missed her, led the horse into the stable.
She then grabbed her towel off the stable floor, dried herself off, and went to the front porch to wait for Cecilia, who arrived about five minutes after she and the horse returned from the swimming hole.
"Are you okay?" Cecilia asked as she hugged Dani.
"Of course I'm okay," Dani replied, "I had a good time once I got over the initial shock."
Cecilia handed Dani a dress and some underwear she got from her bedroom -- the two girls were roommates -- and Dani got dressed in front of her on the porch.
"I see why you don't mind the naked," Cecilia said, "I didn't find any more houses along the road leading up to this place."
"Wait till you see the swimming hole behind the barn," Dani said.
"There's a swimming hole?" Cecilia asked.
"Yeah, but first, we gotta go to work," Dani replied as she walked to Cecilia's car. Rex was barking, but Dani told him she would be back that night. The two girls then left the farm and drove to the club, catching up along the way.
"We thought you had been kidnapped or worse, murdered!" Cecilia said, "We had a missing person notice done up and everything."
"Well, you better tell the cops you found the body," Dani joked, "Alive and frolicking!"
After about a 45-minute drive, the girls arrived at the club and went inside. The manager, bouncers, and other strippers were thrilled to see Dani alive and well. They naturally wanted answers, but for the moment, there was dancing to do. The girls all rehearsed for the night and once the club was open, showtime began. As Cyndy Cyn was on stage, however, Dani saw some familiar faces in the crowd: the guys from the bachelor party two nights earlier. The memories flooded back to Dani, and she pulled Cecilia aside to tell her those were the guys behind her 24-hour disappearance.
"I don't know what they'll do if they see me dance here," she told Cecilia.
"Just don't worry too much, Dani," Cecilia said. "Maybe they've forgotten what you look like by now.
With that, Dani took the stage when her name was called. She danced and stripped in front of the patrons -- including the last guys who saw her a couple of nights ago -- without missing a beat. Thinking Cecilia had been right, Dani met up back wit her in the bathroom in the back of the club, off-limits to everyone except the strippers. They both sat down on two of the toilets and began talking. They could talk face to face as the toilets weren't separated; strippers only of course! After they finished their business, Cecilia and Dani walked back out to the locker room. That's when the manager told Dani one of the patrons wanted to speak personally with her. She said okay and the manager fetched the patron. To Dani's shock, it was one of the guys from the bachelor party.
Dani's blood ran cold: "What does he have planned for tonight?" she thought. Before she could get a word out though, the young man began talking to her.
"I'm so sorry for the other night," he told her, "My name's Philip G. Herman the third, but you can call me Phil. I'm the eldest son of the man whose farm you were left at."
"Are you serious?" Dani asked, to which he pulled out his driver's license. Dani read the name on the license: Philip G. Herman the third. Confident he wasn't lying, Dani asked Phil: "What happened? And why did you leave me at our father's farm?"
"Okay, one of my brother's groomsmen slipped you sleeping pills and you passed out," Phil explained. "He was about to start with you -- if you know what I mean [which Dani did] -- but I talked him out of it by saying: 'Listen, the last thing you need is a sexual assault charge.' He then fell asleep on the couch."